!!!Estonia: Economy
Estonia, a member of the EU since 2004 and the euro zone since 2011, has a modern market-based economy and one of the higher per capita income levels in Central Europe and the Baltic region. Estonia's successive governments have pursued a free market, pro-business economic agenda, and sound fiscal policies that have resulted in balanced budgets and low public debt. \\  \\ The economy benefits from strong electronics and telecommunications sectors and strong trade ties with Finland, Sweden, and Germany. After two years of robust recovery in 2011 and 2012, the Estonian economy faltered in 2013 with only 1.6% GDP growth, mainly due to continuing recession in much of the EU. GDP growth in 2014 was 2.9% but dropped to 1.2% in 2015 due to lower demand in key Scandinavian export markets. GDP growth is expected to be about 2.2% in 2016. \\  \\ Estonia is challenged by a shortage of labor, both skilled and unskilled, although the government has amended its immigration law to allow easier hiring of highly qualified foreign workers.
!!Economic Facts
||GDP (purchasing power parity)|$38.7 billion (2016 est.) \\ $38.12 billion (2015 est.) \\ $37.72 billion (2014 est.) \\ ''__note__'': data are in 2016 dollars \\ 
||GDP (official exchange rate)|$23.48 billion (2015 est.)
||GDP - real growth rate|1.5% (2016 est.) \\ 1.1% (2015 est.) \\ 2.9% (2014 est.)
||GDP - per capita (PPP)|$29,500 (2016 est.) \\ $29,000 (2015 est.) \\ $28,700 (2014 est.) \\ ''__note__'': data are in 2016 dollars \\ 
||Gross national saving|24.4% of GDP (2016 est.) \\ 26.2% of GDP (2015 est.) \\ 27.5% of GDP (2014 est.)
||GDP - composition, by end use|''household consumption'': 51.2% \\ ''government consumption'': 20.9% \\ ''investment in fixed capital'': 24.3% \\ ''investment in inventories'': -1% \\ ''exports of goods and services'': 79.2% \\ ''imports of goods and services'': -74.6% (2016 est.) \\ 
||GDP - composition, by sector of origin|''agriculture'': 3.5% \\ ''industry'': 28.1% \\ ''services'': 68.4% (2016 est.) \\ 
||Agriculture - products|grain, potatoes, vegetables; livestock and dairy products; fish
||Industries|food, engineering, electronics, wood and wood products, textiles; information technology, telecommunications
||Industrial production growth rate|3.2% (2016 est.)
||Labor force|651,200 (2016 est.)
||Labor force - by occupation|''agriculture'': 3.9% \\ ''industry'': 28.4% \\ ''services'': 67.7% (2014) \\ 
||Unemployment rate|6.5% (2016 est.) \\ 6.2% (2015 est.)
||Population below poverty line|21.6% (2014 est.)
||Household income or consumption by percentage share|''lowest 10%'': 2.7% \\ ''highest 10%'': 27.7% (2004) \\ 
||Distribution of family income - Gini index|35.6 (2014) \\ 37 (1999)
||Budget|''revenues'': $9.559 billion \\ ''expenditures'': $9.596 billion (2016 est.) \\ 
||Taxes and other revenues|40.7% of GDP (2016 est.)
||Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)|-0.2% of GDP (2016 est.)
||Public debt|9.7% of GDP (2016 est.) \\ 9.7% of GDP (2015 est.) \\ ''__note__'': data cover general government debt, and includes debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities, including sub-sectors of central government, state government, local government, and social security funds \\ 
||Fiscal year|calendar year
||Inflation rate (consumer prices)|0.3% (2016 est.) \\ -0.5% (2015 est.)
||Central bank discount rate|0.05% (31 December 2013) \\ 0.3% (31 December 2012)
||Commercial bank prime lending rate|4.8% (31 December 2016 est.) \\ 4.48% (31 December 2015 est.)
||Stock of narrow money|$12.85 billion (31 December 2016 est.) \\ $10.96 billion (31 December 2015 est.) \\ ''__note__'': see entry for the European Union for money supply for the entire euro area; the European Central Bank (ECB) controls monetary policy for the 18 members of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU); individual members of the EMU do not control the quantity of \\ 
||Stock of broad money|$14.71 billion (31 December 2014 est.) \\ $14.05 billion (31 December 2013 est.)
||Stock of domestic credit|$21.29 billion (31 December 2016 est.) \\ $19.88 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
||Market value of publicly traded shares|$2.034 billion (31 December 2014 est.) \\ $2.591 billion (31 December 2013 est.) \\ $2.332 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
||Current account balance|$136 million (2016 est.) \\ $487 million (2015 est.)
||Exports|$12.27 billion (2016 est.) \\ $12.24 billion (2015 est.)
||Exports - commodities|machinery and electrical equipment 34%, food products and beverages 9%, mineral fuels 9%, wood and wood products 10%, metals 7%, furniture 9%, vehicles and parts 6%, chemicals 5% (2015 est.)
||Exports - partners|Sweden 18.8%, Finland 16%, Latvia 10.4%, Russia 6.7%, Lithuania 5.9%, Germany 5.2%, Norway 4.1% (2015)
||Imports|$13.46 billion (2016 est.) \\ $13.19 billion (2015 est.)
||Imports - commodities|machinery and electrical equipment 28 %, mineral fuels 11%, food and food products 10%, vehicles 9%, chemical products 8%, metals 8% (2015 est.)
||Imports - partners|Finland 14.5%, Germany 11%, Lithuania 9%, Sweden 8.5%, Latvia 8.3%, Poland 7.4%, Russia 6.1%, Netherlands 5.5%, China 4.8% (2015)
||Reserves of foreign exchange and gold|$475.5 million (31 December 2016 est.) \\ $414.8 million (31 December 2015 est.)
||Debt - external|$19.05 billion (31 December 2016 est.) \\ $18.3 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
||Stock of direct foreign investment - at home|$22.86 billion (31 December 2016 est.) \\ $22.02 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
||Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad|$9.414 billion (31 December 2016 est.) \\ $9.164 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
||Exchange rates|kroon (EEK) per US dollar - \\ 0.8985 (2016 est.) \\ 0.9012 (2015 est.) \\ 0.9012 (2014 est.) \\ 0.7525 (2013 est.)